Hey guys!
There have been a lot of new fans (me included) that have joined the Clips Nation over the past few years so I thought this would be a nice 'feel good' thread... Young fans and old hardened clippers fan vets, 'WHAT' made you finally decide to become a Clipper fan?
New fans, was it because of the new additions to the Clippers roster? Location... promote your town? You didn't like the purple and gold?
Old fans, do you love the underdog story? Cheap seats and good drama?
Share YOUR story!
For me, it started with Chris Paul (my favorite player)... then after paying....

A thread of the same ilk has already been posted recently....please not again.

JahvonTheClip

12/07/2012 - 07:16 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 3544

votes: 8

I was playing 2k decided to use the clippers and Blake griffin was grabbing every board my friend called him Big Body Blake lmao. I was like "Wow he's good let me watch some clippers games!" I believe Kenyon martin was on the line and missed the free throw and Deandre came outta nowhere and put back dunked it and then i was like 'yep, this is the team for me" and that's my story been a fan since last season. I'm new to the franchise but by no means am i a band wagoner

Battlegun

12/07/2012 - 07:27 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1208

Location: California

votes: 5

It was actually by random chance.

I was playing NBA Inside Drive 2002 with by brothers, and we started an association. Since I was young back then, I did not know any of the teams, so I randomized the teams and got the L.A. Clippers.

I've only recently started watching real-life games though since the 2008-2009 season.

CP3Heliflopter

12/07/2012 - 07:37 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 6469

votes: 10

Well said I feel the same way. CP3 is my favorite player in the nba and I love "underdog" teams.

The Clippers have many excellent players with good character(They have some of my favorite players like Billups, and Grant Hill). They are slowly becoming one of the league's premiere teams and definitely one of the most fun to watch. Its hard to imagine not too long ago they were the joke of the league. They were like the Wizards West(no offense).

The Clippers are slowly becoming my favorite team. I like all the players on this team while I can't say the same for the Knicks.

pageC4

12/07/2012 - 07:41 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 4789

votes: 24

Back in 2001 I first decided to start following basketball. Being that im a local I wanted to follow a team whose home games I could attend. That limited the options to the lakers and clippers. At the time the lakers were adding to their trophy case and their legacy was growing steadily under the leadership of shaq and kobe. Their crosstown rivals couldnt be any more different. Not only did the clippers lack a winning culture and championships, but they also had practically zero fans at the time. I decided that between the two I really wanted to start at the infacy of successs. I thought it would be a great idea to root for the clippers so I could be there through the lean times before I could partake in success. As I started watching more basketball I realized that the lakers had a lot of personality clashes and egos, and it further pushed me away from even entertaining rooting for them. So I chose to root for the underdog because in a way I view myself as one. Now that we are doing well I feel as if it is a victory for me as well. its satisfying to know that good things come from loyalty and sticking with something at all times

pageC4

12/07/2012 - 07:42 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 4789

votes: 24

so would you consider yourself a knicks fan still?

CP3Heliflopter

12/07/2012 - 07:45 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 6469

votes: 10

pageC4 wrote:

CP3Heliflopter wrote:

Well said I feel the same way. CP3 is my favorite player in the nba and I love "underdog" teams.

The Clippers have many excellent players with good character(They have some of my favorite players like Billups, and Grant Hill). They are slowly becoming one of the league's premiere teams and definitely one of the most fun to watch. Its hard to imagine not too long ago they were the joke of the league. They were like the Wizards West(no offense).

The Clippers are slowly becoming my favorite team. I like all the players on this team while I can't say the same for the Knicks.

so would you consider yourself a knicks fan still?

I will always be a Knicks fan.

pageC4

12/07/2012 - 07:49 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 4789

votes: 24

Good year for you then. Knicks and Clippers have a good chance of actually meeting up in the finals

pmb0928

12/07/2012 - 07:50 PM PST

Clipper Rookie

Posts: 52

votes: 0

Grew up a Pitt fan in NJ. Clips drafted my favorite player Charles Smith. Loved them since 1988. One of the few clippers fans in NJ and now North Carolina.

realbull17

12/07/2012 - 08:00 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 2604

votes: 6

I alway root for the underdog. Around town the flakers gets all the attention. While the Clippers gets no love. in 1999 i chose the underdog and been with them ever since.

CP3Heliflopter

12/07/2012 - 08:08 PM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 6469

votes: 10

pageC4 wrote:

CP3Heliflopter wrote:

I will always be a Knicks fan.

Good year for you then. Knicks and Clippers have a good chance of actually meeting up in the finals

The Knicks are very similar to the Mavs in their 2011 run except Dirk>Melo so its possible but I don't know the Knicks have let me down every year I have been a fan so I will set my expectations low. For now get past the first round. Something that we haven't done in god knows how long.

jaydmmanny1331

12/07/2012 - 08:13 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 191

votes: 0

Back in 2000 my older cousins both clippers fans I was always over and by the miles odom q magette era I was all in !!!

1clipperfan

12/07/2012 - 08:29 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 127

Location: 1clipperfan

votes: 8

Tuesday, December 9th, 1997 I was living in Dallas for a short time though I grew up in Riverside, CA. I was a couple years removed from a back injury that killed my baseball aspirations (the summer of '95 I was a 6'7" lefty that got clocked at 94 MPH). Though I lived and breathed Dodgers baseball, I couldn't even turn on a game without ending up in tears knowing I couldn't ever play again. So I got curious while I lived in Dallas and flipped on the Mavs game. They were playing the Clippers and....

haha I feel like this was 2000th thread of why you becoming a Clippers fan. haha No offense, I just see it too often.

bullterrierclipsfan1349

12/07/2012 - 10:14 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 4526

votes: 30

my dad was a clips fan, so i naturally became a clip fan when i was 5. that was back in 1991.

BG_32

12/07/2012 - 10:35 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 103

votes: 0

My dad worked at the sports arena since I was about 5 (I just turned 22), so he always took me to those games and when Staples Center opened in '99 he got a job offer over there and took it.

The_Blake_Show

12/07/2012 - 10:57 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 201

votes: 2

I became an official Clipper fan when the Blake Show got drafted... I always been a fan of the power forward position so one look at the potential Blake had and I knew that I was gonna represent the Clippers. The crazy thing is that I have been going to Clipper games since 2006. My wife got free tickets to a Clipper game and ever since that game I have only been to Clipper games. It was the first time I had experienced a live basketball game (I was 21 at the time) greatest time of my life. Just to throw this in there i'm an avid Laker hater... So Clippers being from L.A. made it that much easier to follow and finally represent a team that didn't wear hideous "purple and gold". Just for the record too... Before the Clippers I did not represent any other team. Clip Nation!

LobAngelesBlakers

12/08/2012 - 12:03 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 774

votes: 7

In 2006 I started getting into sports. I was a sophmore in highschool and was playing sports myself. I started liking all of the underdog teams. So for each sport I picked favorite teams that "nobody" liked. The Clippers were my bball team, the browns/rams (im from stl) for NFL. Lucky for me the playoffs that years were fun for the Clips. I kinda fell off until Blake got drafted, and I haven't missed a regular season game since!

LobAngelesBlakers

12/08/2012 - 12:04 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 774

votes: 7

Sidenote- the Lakers just fell to the 11th seed lol

realbull17

12/08/2012 - 12:49 AM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 2604

votes: 6

Amnesty_David_Stern

12/08/2012 - 01:34 AM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 2333

votes: 7

The horrible record and mainly the red, white and blue colors.

A7XDreamTheaterClipps

12/08/2012 - 01:35 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 749

votes: 5

Combination of Q, Miles, and Odom, Angels winning the World Series(anything can happen) and getting tired of the Lakers.

Keatonsays

12/08/2012 - 02:11 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Age: 24

Posts: 915

votes: 6

This will definitely be my 3rd time telling this story but I love telling it so much, I have no problem telling it any time this question is asked.

Late in the 02-03 season, I caught the end of a Clippers game when they were playing the Houston Rockets after watching the Lakers stomp out the Phoenix Suns. I had always liked the Clippers because they were an LA team and there were rumors of Allen Iverson or Vince Carter being traded to Clips which made me take even more of an interest in them. During this game, the Clippers were down by 2 with seconds left in the fourth and Andre Miller got fouled and sent to the line to shoot 2 freethrows. He made the first one and then made the second, but the Refs called a Lane Violation on Andre claiming he stepped over the line before the shot went down and wiped off the second shot leaving the Clips down 1. The Clips had to foul the rockets on their next possession and Steve Francis made both freethrows with 2 seconds left. The Clips were down 3 and had no time outs left so Andre Miller was forced to shoot a 3 from half court which he missed and the Clippers lost the game. Later Replays showed that Andre Miller didn't step over the line until well after the shot had gone through the net.

The Clippers had been cheated by the refs in a game that didn't really matter for them because they weren't in the playoff hunt that season, but it was big for the Rockets because they were fighting for the 8th seed. Even if the win was important for the Rockets, the Clips still got cheated and it led me to start thinking that the reason the Clippers have been so bad for so long was because Referees conspired against them due to the fact that nobody really cared about them since they were the other team in Los Angeles next to the Lakers, who are arguably the greatest franchise in all of sports. I thought to myself "these guys need help, they need support" so from that point on I identified myself as a Clippers fan. Luckily the next season KTLA channel 5 started picking up Clipper away games (i don't know if they had done so before) so I began watching all the Clipper games I could catch and would listen to all the home games on the radio in my bathroom.

April of this year will make my 10th season as a Clippers fan and it has been TOUGH. Despite that, I've been a diehard supporter through thick and thin, enduring all the constant jokes from friends and family, and keeping hope that we'll soon have our day. Thanks to Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, those hopes seem to be paying off, and we're finally looking like legitimate contenders for the NBA title. Anticipating the moment when all those nay-sayers will have to shut up and give me my props for sticking by my team, makes everything worth it. I seriously can't wait for that day.

insignificant

12/08/2012 - 02:12 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 472

votes: 7

haha these new joins like the feel good thread. I'm not complaining. Always good to see new "non bandwagon" fans. give it a couple months and youll see the same thread again.

insignificant

12/08/2012 - 02:17 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 472

votes: 7

CP3Heliflopter wrote:

pageC4 wrote:

CP3Heliflopter wrote:

Well said I feel the same way. CP3 is my favorite player in the nba and I love "underdog" teams.

The Clippers have many excellent players with good character(They have some of my favorite players like Billups, and Grant Hill). They are slowly becoming one of the league's premiere teams and definitely one of the most fun to watch. Its hard to imagine not too long ago they were the joke of the league. They were like the Wizards West(no offense).

The Clippers are slowly becoming my favorite team. I like all the players on this team while I can't say the same for the Knicks.

so would you consider yourself a knicks fan still?

I will always be a Knicks fan.

i respect the knicks. they had a hard time just like we did. I also like them cuz they're my cousin's squad.

I gotta ask though, when the knicks and clips play, whose jersey will you be wearing?

Are going to bleed red white and blue

or

orange and blue.

insignificant

12/08/2012 - 02:21 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Age: 27

Posts: 472

votes: 7

out of this world

insignificant

12/08/2012 - 02:26 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 472

votes: 7

name me a season where you didn't like someone on the clipper roster. sure there were some that might have been under performing *cough ricky davis cough paul davis cough barin davis cough* but cmon almost every year there were players that just stood out that made the team likable. you cant hate the clippers. its a hard "unless your a laker fan" I never saw anyone on the clippers that I hated. team ball very few egos. shrugs

Keatonsays

12/08/2012 - 07:03 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 915

votes: 6

I can't believe Corey Maggette never made an all-star team smh

ClipperHeart

12/08/2012 - 07:23 AM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Age: 35

Posts: 160

votes: 3

^ Yep, same here, these guys along with Danny Manning and Corey Maggette. 8) Keatonsays, I feel you on that Maggette comment, I was voting a lot for him to make the ASG.

REDUCE523

12/08/2012 - 09:31 AM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 179

votes: 0

When I was young we were poor I was taken to the sports arena as a treat since then just always rooted for them. Also I met the clips team when Darius and Quentin were there, they took pictures with everyone that wanted after a showing of spiderman the movie. They left an hour after the movie ended to accomodate there fans class act in my eyes.

FightOnRon

12/08/2012 - 09:34 AM PST

CTB MVP X2

Posts: 5212

Location: The Darkside

votes: 40

OP,,I don't want to tell my story again really but the Cliff Notes versions (if you've ever heard of Cliff Notes !!),,,Laker fan in 1980. Attended Laker games at the forum. First Clipper game in 1989 at Sports Arena (where I worked as a teenager for Laker games in the early '70s). Went to Clipper and Laker games from 1989 to 1992 and found out I preferred the entire experience of Clippers over Lakers. Liked the way the team played, the teams attitudes and the fans were just really, not the fake Laker fans and the grouchy team. Also found myself rooting for the CLips over the Lakers when they played so I decided I must be an actual Clipper fan so I changed allegiance and haven't looked back.

A7XDreamTheaterClipps

12/08/2012 - 12:13 PM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 749

votes: 5

This a very common topic that mistakenly gets started several times a month so I think we should merge all related topics and make a new section just for this topic.

fattner

12/08/2012 - 01:33 PM PST

Posts: 1124

Location: California

votes: 1

Was I laker fan b4 since 1969-70 die heart , so during the Boston finals in 1986 , the lakers either lost or won a gm that allowed another gm to be played at the forum , so I spent the night in the parking lot at the forum to purchase tickets along with about 2000 other people . Needless to say inglewood police came by and made us all leave and advised the crowd the the gm was already sold out !!! Wow everyone was pisted and as I left I was yelling " I'm a clipper fan for life and others followed me !!!!! Clipper fan since 86-87 season

82-0

12/08/2012 - 01:38 PM PST

Posts: 1360

votes: 3

I've been a fan since the mid-'90s. Always been a fan of the underdog and a devout Laker hater, so the Clippers were the team for me. Until CP3 came along, Loy Vaught (from his spot) was by far my favorite Clipper.

Keatonsays

12/08/2012 - 05:03 PM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 915

votes: 6

dude, his per 36 numbers are hall of fame worthy!

prokreation

12/09/2012 - 02:32 PM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 727

votes: 10

Twenty years ago in 1992 my parents transferred me to a new high school and the first year I was alone much of the time. I felt like the biggest underdog. The CLIPPERS became my team. There were times in the beginning when I ate lunch alone. I escaped into the SPORTS PAGE and at that time it was all about Larry Brown, Danny Manning, Gary Grant, Loy Vaught, Benoit, Ron Harper. We lost to the Jazz twice in the first round in 5 games when it was 3 out of 5 the first round. I went to a Clipper game ALONE. bought my first $100 Clippers Starter Jacket that I still have.

I also always hoped USC hoop could overtake the protected cheaters at UCLA.

Seems to me most long time Clip fans would have also had to hate Laker AND Ucla hoop.

But I am from Minnesota so I do not know if that is how LA people see it or not.

I have gone to Clip game for years in Minnesota and yell "CLIPPER MANIA" when clips score. Will say some of the laziest pro hoop players I have ever seen in Minnesota have been Clippers. Eric Gordon and Chris Wilcox being the worst.

clippertime

12/10/2012 - 10:52 AM PST

Clipper D-League Pickup

Posts: 27

votes: 1

What made me a clipper fan?

Lakers suck balls

the awesome display of power by blake

Cp3 makes it showtime

Deandre's dunks and blocks, and mambo dance after a flush

Butler's outside shooting in the first half lol

BlEDSOE!!!!!! who knew he could go to another level like this?

Barnes, talk about the ultimate glue guy who does everything

Crawford, holy crap this guy is an unbelievable sniper

9 Turiaf and hollins play big and hold it down proper

10 Odom starting to do his thing

Team chemistry, guys truly happy to see their teamates do well

Unselfish play, and more lob city than any other team

Ralph lawler! Really fun to listen to

Because stu lantz is horrible to listen to

Because the clips are the most entertaining team to watch

Because the lakers are painful to watch

KezmicClipper

12/10/2012 - 11:00 AM PST

Clipper Starter

Posts: 438

votes: 3

I chose to follow the Clippers after arriving in LA (early 2009) as supporting the Lakers would have made me a glory hunting bar steward.

jerdogthompson

12/10/2012 - 05:14 PM PST

Clipper 6th Man

Posts: 183

Location: The LBC

votes: 1

Since I grew up in Las Vegas the only game in town was the Runnin Rebels of UNLV.

In 92' Clippers drafted Elmore Spencer and I would watch games to keep tabs on him and to boot it was the only thing on TV when I got home at 2-3AM, Clipper replays and bass fishing! Clippers won that battle

clipperAndrew

12/10/2012 - 05:33 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1804

votes: 10

When I was about 7 (I am 27 now, so I would say at least 20 years ago) when I was in Cub Scouts there was a silent auction to raise money for my troop. My dad bid on a pair of Clipper tickets and won. He took me and it was the first Sporting Event I ever went too. Needless to say I have been a fan ever since

TheDude

12/10/2012 - 06:13 PM PST

CTB MVP X1

Posts: 2800

votes: 31

Grew up a Knick fan. When I moved to L.A. in 2001, the Knicks were starting the Isiah Thomas debacle and they were just terrible within a year from there...Plus back in the day, it was really tough to catch out of market games. Always hated the Lakers so there was no way I could root for them. Always rooted for the underdog and I knew it would be the absolute most rewarding thing ever if this terrible team/organization would someday win a championship. Loved Ralph. Loved some of the players. Loved the fact that it was probably the least followed team in the NBA. Loved the cheap tickets to games...10 years later we are on the cusp of glory.

clipboard

12/10/2012 - 07:51 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Posts: 1333

votes: 4

For 34 years I was an Under-dog Clipper fan, but now D'Liquors are the un-dawgs, but they don't have Ralph and his kick in the side, Mike.

SDclipper

12/13/2012 - 12:14 PM PST

Clipper All-Star

Age: 30

Posts: 1289

Location: Nashville, TN

votes: 19

I grew up in Tennessee so I never had a local NBA team. Well, until the Grizzlies came but I'm not from Memphis. In 2007 I moved to San Diego and a college friend of mine (guy in my avatar) moved out to LA for an internship while I was there. We decided it was pretty awesome to finally have an NBA team nearby except no way were we going to jump right in and be Laker fans. So the only alternative was be a Clipper fan and hope for the best. Best move ever. The ridicule and suffering makes it feel like I've been a fan way longer than I really have.

I didn't despise the purple and gold until actually living in LA awhile and dealing with their arrogant clown fans first-hand. I love Clipper Nation because if you've been a fan longer than two years, you don't just accidentally become a Clipper supporter. Maybe it is these days to an extent, but it's never "cool" to be a Clipper fan. No one is going to pack the bars to watch the Clipper games. No one is going to see Clipper flags and stickers on 20 cars a day. But embracing the underdog mentality is what we're about. Laker fans have never ever had to be an underdog. They have spent a generation arrogantly ignoring the Clippers, literally acting as if there's one NBA team in town. Somehow mocking and ridiculing Clipper fans as if they've ever had the stones to follow a team that won't give them instant gratification. If you took 100 random people of the street that claimed to be Clipper fans, and 100 random people that claimed to be Laker fans, the knowledge of the team and the game of basketball as a whole would be immensely greater from the Clip fans. I'm back in Tennessee now and I can guarantee I'm the only person in this state with a Clippers sticker on their car. But Clipper Nation is reaching everywhere now, and as long as they're loyal and not just here for a joyride during the good times, I'm okay with it.

dkongos

12/13/2012 - 04:32 PM PST

Clipper Rookie

Posts: 83

votes: 0

When I was in 5th grade I turned on the television while trading basketball

cards with my friends. The Clippers were happening to be playing the Lakers , and of course the Clips were getting destroyed. My friend's older brother told me the old folklore about how the Clips were historically terrible, and how they would continue the path towards mediocrity. From that point wrong I decided to prove him, and everyone in L.A. wrong. So I kept up with my team, but damn did I get A LOT, and I mean alot of crap from everyone. I mean how many people did you see in Elementary and Jr. High repping the Clips, IN LA?! I got crapped on until the 05-06 season, but soon after that the hate still came. I got used to the hate, and found comfort in a few knowledgable Clips fans like myself. I joined Clipstopbuzz around 2005-2006, but forgot my account info, thankfully everyone on this forum help prove my point that we are a very knowledgable, realistic, and loyal fan base. I mean...loyalty and being realistic is a bit of a contradiction, but we pull it off haha!

PS - Darius Miles and Q-Rich also made it fun to watch the Clips when I became a fan, it definitely helped.